The Beginning of Spork Love
by grissomrocks
Summary: The first true date for Grissom and Sophia.
1. Chapter 1

**Title:** "The Beginning of Spork Love"

**Author:** grissomrocks

**Rating: **T

**Category:** Romance

**Pairing:** Grissom/Sophia

**Summary:** Grissom feels the need to make up with Sophia after Catherine's outburst in "King Baby". My version of the beginning of Spork Love.

**Spoilers:** "King Baby", "Unbearable", "Nesting Dolls"

**Disclaimer:** Don't own them, just play with them and put them back nice and neat when I'm finished.

**A/N:** Tazzer, I tried my best to take my vision in a different direction than your wonderful story on csiconfessions. If anything appears too similar, it's not intentional and I do apologize.

Grissom plodded through the paperwork on his desk, but his mind wasn't focused on it. Instead, he was reliving what had happened between Sophia and Catherine after the Eiger autopsy. He would've included himself in his thoughts on the dispute, but he had been so shocked at Catherine's paranoid outburst, he couldn't react.

He was angry with himself for not speaking up for Sophia. She was a member of his team now and deserved the same effort that he had put into keeping Sara from getting fired after her run in with Catherine. Why did this have to happen right after Grissom had convinced Sophia to stay and give working at the lab a second chance?

The memory of their recent dinner surfaced in Grissom's mind. Amongst other assurances, he had promised her he would try to take part of the sting out of her demotion by giving her more autonomy and responsibility, including allowing her to take over for him when he was off. It seemed that the assurances, plus allowing Sophia to openly express her feelings of humiliation and disappointment, helped her decide to stay – for now.

Professional considerations weren't the only factor in Grissom's appeal to Sophia. In the past two and a half months they had worked together, his feelings about her progressed from respecting her as a CSI to admiring her as a woman. Grissom was fairly certain that Sophia had similar feelings for him as well. However, the CSI supervisor knew that Sophia officially was his subordinate and a personal relationship would be the end of one, if not both, of the CSIs' careers in Las Vegas. For Sophia's sake, Grissom wasn't sure if he was willing to risk that, but he still enjoyed being with her. It had been some years since he had kept company with an intelligent and appealing woman who challenged how he thought and acted upon things.

Reluctantly, Grissom brought his thoughts back to the present. A nagging feeling enveloped him that the other night's dinner would be for naught – that Sophia would be submitting her letter of resignation anytime now. He wondered if he should take the initiative and try to patch things up with her before that letter crossed his desk.

* * *

Sophia approached Grissom's office and noticed the troubled expression on his face. Normally she would just walk in, but this time decided it would be better to knock. Grissom's head shot up as the sound of the knocks penetrated his preoccupied brain.

"Glad to see you're back on Earth," Sophia teased.

Grissom removed his eyeglasses and sighed. "Sorry. Something's been on my mind."

Sophia sat on the edge of his desk and asked, "Case related? Want to talk about it? It usually helps me."

Despite his depressed mood, Grissom couldn't help but smile at that statement. "Yeah, but usually you're not talking _with_ someone else." He was fascinated as to how she could manage to make him smile even though right now he felt like an absolute failure as a supervisor. His mood became more somber as he regarded the woman sitting on his desk. "Actually, I would like to talk with you, but not here," Grissom said, having decided to try to mend their professional relationship, at least. "Would you like to join me for breakfast?"

Something was seriously wrong, Sophia thought. She hadn't seen him this disturbed since Ecklie split up the night shift. "Okay," she answered uneasily. "Let me grab my purse, clock out, and freshen up. Where did you want to go?"

Grissom gave her the name of and directions to a diner close by his townhouse. With the sensitive nature of what he wanted to discuss, he didn't want to be interrupted by anyone they knew. After Sophia left, Grissom straightened up his desk and collected what papers he wanted to take home. He hoped he'd be in a better mood when he eventually got there.

* * *

After the waitress brought their coffees, Sophia gently confronted Grissom. "What's going on, Gil? In your office, you sounded like your world just fell apart."

"I'm sorry about what happened after the autopsy," Grissom quickly said with genuine remorse. "I should have spoken up after Catherine snapped at you. You shouldn't have to put up with any more unacceptable treatment because I can't deal with office conflicts."

Sophia's expression relaxed some. "Gil, if I can't deal with Catherine's unprofessional conduct, I have no business being a CSI," she reassured him. "Do you remember what I was telling you at dinner about missing being a supervisor?" Grissom nodded as Sophia continued, "I had a temporary memory loss, so to speak. My first instinct was to try to calm Catherine down, because that's what I would've done with someone under me. That's not my job anymore and I should have let you decide how to respond to Catherine, even if your decision was not to respond at all. So, _I_ apologize for usurping your authority."

Grissom protested, "I can't accept that, Sophia. You weren't in the wrong."

"Neither were you," Sophia answered back, a little sharper than she had intended. She wasn't angry with Grissom about the original incident, but she was becoming slightly frustrated with his insistence at taking the blame for it. As far as she was concerned, she _and_ Catherine shared in the responsibility.

Before Grissom could contradict Sophia's statement, their food arrived. They spent the remainder of their meal in awkward silence.

When they left the diner, Grissom, ever the gentleman, insisted on following Sophia back to her condo to make sure she got home safely. He had also done that when they went out to dinner. If it had been any other man, Sophia would've found it patronizing, but for some reason she found it sweet and charming that Grissom would care enough to watch out for her.

Sophia was about to place her key in the lock when she decided to try and diffuse the tension between them. She turned around and looked into Grissom's intense blue eyes. "How about we undertake a compromise?"

"A compromise?"

"If something like this happens again, I promise to let you handle it," Sophia suggested. She raised her hand to silence any objections on Grissom's part and continued, "And you promise that you'll be my knight in shining armor and defend your fair lady if she is attacked by the red dragon."

Although Grissom and Catherine had been close friends for many years, he found Sophia's suggestion rather amusing. When Catherine was angry about something, she _did_ have a tendency to resemble a charging dragon in her demeanor.

But there was a couple of problems with Sophia's scenario. With a smirk, Grissom pointed out the difficulties. "You never struck me as the type who would need a knight in shining armor." Then he added, regretfully, as he took a step closer to Sophia, "And even if you did, you're not _my_ fair lady."

Her already sultry voice became even more so. "That could change."

"I'd like it to change, Sophia," Grissom said. "But I don't want you to lose your job."

Sophia reached for Grissom's hand. "I wouldn't want you to lose your job, either. You've worked too hard to get where you're at."

Grissom tenderly stroked Sophia's hand as he shrugged his shoulders. "I'm not that concerned about _my_ position. You're at the beginning of your career compared to me," he said nonchalantly. "If I lost my job here, I'm sure I could either lecture or find a teaching position somewhere." He quickly gave his stocky body a glance. "I don't think I'll starve."

Smiling as she conceded the point about his career, Sophia concluded, "If we're discreet, I don't think we'll have any problems at work. We'll just have to be extra careful in our cases and make sure our objectivity can't be called into question."

"It wouldn't matter to Ecklie if we were the most perfect CSIs in the country," Grissom replied pragmatically, "if he knew we were involved, he'd fire one or both of us in an instant."

Sophia shot an amused glance at Grissom. "Someone once told me not to take Ecklie seriously. If we have to deal with Ecklie, we'll do it together."

_Together_. Grissom liked the sound of that. He wanted this, but knew the cons of entering a relationship with Sophia, besides the professional ones. He was significantly older, intensely private, had unusual interests, and was set in his solitary ways. Was he willing to open up to her?

Then he thought of the positive aspects. Sophia was intelligent, witty, appreciated his unusual sense of humor, didn't seem put off by his eccentricities, stimulated him mentally, and made him smile in a way that he hadn't in years. If he couldn't do this now, when?

A decision was promptly made on Grissom's part. He released Sophia's hands and lifted his own to caress her face. Lowering his head, he pressed his lips gently onto hers. Her response was immediate and eager as she wound her arms around his shoulders, returning and deepening the kiss.

The world seemed to stop for the new couple. They slowly explored each other's mouths, stopping only to breathe. Hands leisurely mapped bodies, as best as could be done under the circumstances, each memorizing what touches garnered the best responses.

Grissom knew there was no going back. He had never believed in the concept of "soul mate" until now. He used to think it was an absurd way to describe how two people felt about each other. However, as he and Sophia continued to touch and taste each other as if they had been together for years, Grissom couldn't imagine a better phrase.

Sophia wasn't inexperienced in sexual matters by any definition, but she couldn't imagine feeling any more content right now than if they actually were making love. In the back of her mind, she concluded that it was the motivation. This wasn't purely physical. They were laying claim to each other on a mental and emotional level as well.

Reluctantly, they broke away from each other. If they were going to be discreet about this, making out in the hallway of her condominium building wasn't a good idea. "You'd better go home and get some sleep," Sophia said grudgingly. "We have to go back early today."

Grissom teased, "As usual, my fair lady is right." His parting kiss was quick, yet tender. "I'll see you later."

"See you this afternoon, my knight," Sophia replied, returning the kiss. "Sweet dreams."

"They have been since you've been in them," Grissom answered, his tone making it very clear what kind of "sweet dreams" he was referring to. He was certain, though, that his dreams couldn't compare to what he had just experienced. Once he was sure Sophia was safely inside her condo, he turned and headed to the garage to start his journey home. On his way home, he contemplated happily upon the journey that was just beginning.

**A/N:** This was my first attempt at a "make out" scene – I would love to receive constructive advice on how to improve.


	2. Chapter 2

"**The Beginning of Spork Love"**

**Chapter 2**

**Summary/Spoilers (chapter 2):** The first true date. The restaurant Grissom and Sophia are eating at is the one in "Pledging Mr. Johnson".

**A/N:** Sorry for the long wait – bad case of writer's block and real life. I'm working on the last chapter now.

**A/N #2:** Since they haven't mentioned it on the show, I made up Sophia's mother's first name and what unit she worked in.

**A/N #3:** Kudos to April from the csicurtis Yahoo group for her suggestion of Sophia's unique hobby.

* * *

About a week after the Eiger case was wrapped up, Sophia and Gil went on their first real date. The other times they had been out together in the past month were mainly for work related purposes. Tonight, in contrast, the focus was going to be on Sophia and Gil, not CSI Curtis and CSI Supervisor Grissom. 

Unfortunately for the new couple, the lab couldn't be completely ignored. Sophia and Gil had agreed to arrive separately at the restaurant so if one was called in, the other wouldn't be stuck calling a cab home. It would bring up some awkward questions if both CSIs showed up at a scene. Questions that they obviously wanted to avoid, both for professional and personal reasons.

As Sophia got out of her SUV, she looked approvingly at the scenery. The restaurant overlooked Lake Mead. She loved being near the water. One of the few things she didn't like about living in Las Vegas, was the limited access to bodies of water.

Sophia had heard of this restaurant, but had never been there before tonight. Gil had raved about the calamari appetizer. She had been a little taken aback at his enthusiastic description and recommendation. Usually, she only heard that enthusiasm when he was discussing bugs or an interesting scientific finding.

As she walked up the stairs, Sophia wondered if this was a usual place where he brought his dates and questioned why she felt somewhat disturbed by that thought. She wasn't exactly sitting home alone before they started seeing each other, so why was she subconsciously expecting Gil to have been a hermit as far as other women were concerned? Then it dawned on her. She wanted their relationship to be different, to make their own unique memories.

She wasn't surprised to see Gil at the bar. Sophia had already seen Gil's Denali in the parking lot when she pulled up. "Hi, Gil," she greeted him. "I hope I haven't kept you waiting long."

Sitting his drink down, Gil shook his head. He hoped Sophia didn't believe she was late. "No," he answered genuinely, hoping to put his lovely companion at ease. "This place is popular, so I came early. I wanted to be sure we got a table with a lake view."

Sophia couldn't help but smile at how similar their thought process was. "Thank you," she said. When Gil gave her a blank look, she explained herself more clearly. "I love being by the water. I find it very relaxing."

Gil smiled modestly. He was glad Sophia approved of his choice. Tonight was a special night for both of them and he didn't want anything to mar it.

Before he could ask if Sophia wanted something to drink, the hostess approached. "Mr. Grissom, your table is ready."

* * *

The conversation between them at dinner was one of the most stimulating that Gil had in ages. Among other topics, they talked about how they came to live in Las Vegas, some of their personal interests, and their families. Gil was surprised to find out that Sophia had spent most of her life in Las Vegas. Sophia was a little envious to learn that Gil grew up near the beach in California. Gil told Sophia of his passion for roller coasters and discovered that when Sophia had the time, she liked to create her own pottery. 

It took Gil by surprise to discover that Lt. Diane Curtis of the Missing Person Detail was Sophia's mother. He had worked with her before, but never made the connection between the two women. In turn, Sophia learned that Gil's mother was Deaf and ran an art gallery in his hometown.

After dinner, they went for a stroll along the lake. "This is a beautiful spot," Sophia casually, yet truthfully, remarked. Since the only lights came from the nearby restaurant and the full moon up above, they risked holding each other's hand. She continued her commentary. "I can see why you like to bring your dates here."

Bemusement crept into Gil's expression. _Dates?_ Surely, Sophia was well aware of the rumors around the lab that claimed that he had no social life whatsoever. Gil would be the first to admit to himself that there was more than a little truth to them. However, work wasnot what he wanted to focus on tonight. He'd much rather concentrate on the pleasant time he was having with his charming and attractive companion.

Besides, he was more than a little uncomfortable discussing his deplorable relationship history. Every fiber in Gil's being was screaming to fall into its familiar pattern and change the subject. That was his near automatic reaction when faced with a disconcerting topic of conversation. However, his better nature was urging him to be more outgoing with Sophia. If this relationship was going to work out, he had to at least try to open himself some to her.

"I've never been here with anyone else," Gil replied. He stopped and turned so he was facing Sophia, his left hand still intertwined with her right one. Teasingly, he continued, "And as much as I appreciate your belief that I have a bevy of ladies at my beck and call, my last date was . . . "

The smile faded as Gil thought back. "... about three years ago. We didn't finish it. I was called in." His voice demonstrated mild regretfulness as he continued, "There wasn't a next date."

"Sorry to hear that," Sophia empathized. Being called in while she was on a date was extremely rare when she was on days, but it had happened on occasion. She also had a few relationships that withered away because the man wasn't willing to try and understand what her job entailed. "Her loss."

Gil raised Sophia's hand to his lips and affectionately kissed it. As he did so, he gazed into her arresting blue eyes and responded, "I'm not sorry. It was my gain in the long term."

The implication of those words wasn't lost on Sophia. It was her gain as well, realizing if that relationship had progressed, she probably wouldn't be standing here with Gil now. To show him that she appreciated his sentiment, she stood up on tip toe and brushed his lips with her own.

That light contact was not enough for Gil. He gracefully pulled Sophia up against him and intensified what she had started. He wasn't _that_ inexperienced with women, but it still amazed him how two pairs of lips caressing each other could produce such pleasant sensations.

It wasn't the biological reasons that he was in such awe over. Of course, he understood those. What astonished him was how such a natural and simple act like kissing could make him feel as if there was no Crime Lab, no Ecklie, no anything else except Sophia and himself.

Similar thoughts were passing through Sophia's mind as well. No other man had ever made her feel as though she was the center of his universe like Gil did, especially when they kissed. She was also amazed that, even though she could definitely take care of herself, being in Gil's arms made her feel safe and secure. It was as if she were truly the fair lady to Gil's knight.

As Gil's lips left hers and started to tenderly forge a path down her cheek and neck, Sophia kept her eyes closed and reveled in the sensations he was stirring in her. _If I'm feeling this way just from making out – ohhh – am I going to be able to handle it when we . . . ?_

Sophia didn't get to finish her thought. The sound of another couple heading their way prompted her and Gil to reluctantly part from each other's embrace.

As they headed toward the parking lot, Sophia commented, "If we keep doing this in public, Ecklie will find out about us on the news." She quipped, "That is, after we've been arrested for lewd and lascivious behavior."

"Then we'll just have to take _this_ somewhere more private," Gil responded with a half-smile.

* * *

Once inside her condo, Sophia locked her door and turned toward her knight, who was as eager as she was to continue what had been started by the lake. She took off her jacket and invited Gil to do the same. 

After the jackets had been hung up carefully, Sophia guided Gil over to her couch, where they sat down. She maneuvered herself side saddle onto his lap. Gil began to run his fingers through Sophia's hair. Oh, how he loved her hair! So thick, yet so silky. It felt so cool and velvety against his slightly calloused fingers. What was left of Gil's logical mind wondered how she managed to keep it so smooth in the dry Nevada heat.

Their lips met with even more intensity than they had at the restaurant. Hands were beginning to roam, searching for the familiar spots they knew would create the best sensations.

However, the make out session was all too brief. As Sophia tilted her head to allow Gil to kiss and nibble her neck, she noticed the clock on the wall. _Is it really that late?_

"Gil," Sophia said grudgingly, tapping on his shoulder. "Gil!" He leaned back, a questioning, yet longing, expression directed at his fair lady.

Sophia's own expression was contrite. The last thing she wanted to do to Gil was to get his hopes up, then leave him wanting. "Sorry, I didn't realize how late it was. I have to get up early for court."

Although Gil was disappointed, both physically and emotionally, he understood. "Sure, honey." He helped Sophia get up off his lap. "Rain check?" he quipped as he gathered his jacket and headed for her door.

The smile on her face was all the answer he needed, but she nodded anyway. "That sounds good. Call me?"

Gil smiled and caressed her face. "As soon as I wake up tomorrow afternoon." He opened Sophia's door, then turned and gently kissed her lips. "Sweet dreams, my fair lady."

She returned the kiss. "Sweet dreams to you as well, my knight." Sophia closed the door behind him.

Still a little wound up from what had almost happened between her and Gil, Sophia sat down in front of her computer and began to check her e-mail. She wasn't finding anything that couldn't wait until tomorrow, until she found one from a Captain Landis from the Boulder City Police Department.

Extremely curious, she opened it and began to read.

**_To be continued ..._**


End file.
